UEFA recently announced the nominees for the Men's Player of the Year and Men's Coach of the Year awards for the 2021-22 football season.
The top three nominees for UEFA Men's Player of the Year are Karim Benzema, Thibaut Courtois, and Kevin De Bruyne.
Benzema was incredible last season as he helped Real Madrid to three trophies - La Liga, Supercopa de Espana and the Champions League. He scored 44 goals and provided 15 assists in just 46 appearances in all competitions.
The Frenchman came up with the goods at crucial times, including hat-tricks against Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea in the Champions League.
Courtois, meanwhile, wasn't far behind in his contribution to Real Madrid's dominance last season. He made crucial saves throughout the season, especially in the Supercopa de Espana and the Champions League.
The Belgian goalkeeper made a record 59 saves in the 2021-22 Champions League campaign, including a record nine saves in the final against Liverpool.
From one Belgian to another, De Bruyne finds himself third on the nominees list for the award after another brilliant season with Manchester City. He helped the Cityzens lift their fourth Premier League title in five seasons and reach the Champions League semi-finals.
He scored 19 goals and provided 14 assists in 45 matches across all competitions for City.
You can find the list of the top 15 nominees here.
Carlo Ancelotti, Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp are the top three nominees for the UEFA Men's Coach of the Year 2021-22.
Ancelotti guided Real Madrid to three trophies, the Champions League, the La Liga title and the Supercopa de Espana. He became the first coach to win a league title in all of Europe's top five leagues. The Italian also became the first manager to win four Champions League titles.
Guardiola, meanwhile, guided City to another Premier League title.
Klopp led Liverpool to the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup triumphs as they missed out on an unprecedented quadruple.
Who won the 2020-21 UEFA Men's Player of the Year and Coach of the Year awards?
The Men's Player of the Year for the 2020-21 season was won by Chelsea midfielder Jorginho.
He helped the Blues lift the Champions League title and helped Italy lift the 2020 Euro Cup.
Jorginho played 47 matches for Chelsea across all competitions, registering nine goals and four assists.
Meanwhile, Italy coach Roberto Mancini won the Men's Coach of the Year award last season after guiding them to a Euro cup win.